Monday, 28 September 2015

Book Review - War 2.2 by Jim Webster

This is the second book in the author's Tsarina Sector series and while I enjoyed the first book a lot, this one outshines it by quite some margin! As with the first book this story does an excellent job with the world. Many sci-fi stories fall for the trap of shoehorning technology in to make it more spacey, but the setting is so naturally described that the technology just slots into place.

More importantly it's a believable world that the author creates. In many ways it doesn't feel like a sci-fi story simply because of how easily everything slots together. I enjoy hard sci-fi and can happily enjoy reams of technical data this is more easily accessible and is something I think the genre needs more of.

Marvelling at the world building is one thing, but if there isn't a decent story in there then it becomes a dry exercise. Thankfully the story is excellent and flows at a decent page. The insurgency has a Vietnam war feel (the French one) that is well captured. There's either some personal experience or effective research here as it all feels quite authentic for the action and military sequences.

It isn't all about the troops on the ground though, there's also an investigative thread that adds background. The characters are all well drawn with some new faces along with those from the previous book. The reporter carries most of the story and I did eyebrow raise a few moments of how he flitted from one role to the next he carries the central role well.

It's at this point in the review that I talk about the bits I didn't like and to be honest I'm having to dig deep here. The first is something that I rarely comment on and that is the cover. This is definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover as it really doesn't really reflect the quality of the story or the writing. So if you are a reader who's usually put off by this type of thing then don't be in this case.

The other issue was a few proofing errors, there aren't many and to be honest I'm scraping the barrel to counter how much I enjoyed this book! For me this is a solid five star read and a second book in the series that surpasses the first. I can't wait for the next in the series to be released.

Click on image to buy from Amazon

An action packed investigation, from Delta mud to the palaces of Merchant princes, Haldar is back in War 2.2

Haldar Drom is starting to worry. The long running insurgency in the Zala Delta suddenly starts to spiral further out of control. Who is arming the insurgents? How and why? Then a leading local politician who is using his influence to try and keep things calm is threatened with assassination. It's obvious that things are moving to a climax.

All Haldar has immediately available is a third year university student who gets given a dissertation project she'll never forget; young journalist who he convinces to investigate the situation of the ground; and a retired marine librarian whose job is to keep the politician alive. As the investigation proceeds, from the mud of the Delta to the luxurious surroundings of the Drake Islands, Haldar comes to realise that he may be facing Wayland Strang's counter-attack. Faced with a coup d'état spearheaded by off-world mercenaries Haldar has to react quickly to stop a major war.